Betting on the result of a football match is the simplest and oldest way to have a punt, but the gambling industry has come a long way over the years and there are now various ways to stake on a game.
Simply picking the winning team rarely yields high returns on investment, so bettors have had to look elsewhere for value. This has resulted in the emergence of betting on match events, along with in-play betting.
This in-depth guide will tell you everything you need to know about football match events, which can be applied to almost any league across the globe.
It will also provide some detailed tips on how to make the most informed decisions about betting on match events.
What Is A Football Match Event?
For someone who doesn’t bet much, simply picky the winning team in a football match can be enough.
But for bettors who are on the hunt for value and like to make things more interesting, going for something other than a win or a draw can be more exciting.
Match events cover pretty much anything that goes on in a match.
Bettors can stake on a correct scoreline, first team to score, which player will score at any time, how many fouls, how many corners, whether a team will keep a clean sheet, the time a goal is scored, whether a side will win after falling behind, next player to score, the list goes on.
Nowadays, you can bet on nearly anything you can think of in a football match. An amusing example of this was the fact that some bookmakers were offering odds on Luis Suarez biting someone or Cristiano Ronaldo crying at the 2018 World Cup.
Staking on match events can make a football match a whole lot more thrilling, and it can also make you seem like an oracle if you predict something correctly.
In addition to those things, the odds on a lot of match events are likely to pay out much higher returns than simply betting on a winner.
What Type Of Match Events Are Best To Bet On?
Defining which the best match events to bet on are is a tricky question, as different things appeal to different bettors.
Some bettors like to go for events which provide the highest returns on investment, while others will stake on happenings which they can attempt to logically predict.
Betting on a correct scoreline is one of the hardest things to do in football, as the game is notoriously unpredictable. If you do manage to get it right, though, you can reap excellent rewards.
Typical scorelines such as 0-0, 1-0, 1-1, and 2-1 usually have fairly short odds, but if you have a feeling that a game could throw up a crazy scoreline, you can get some serious odds.
Take the Premier League as an example. From time to time there are some cricket scores come the final whistle. And a lot of the time, these aren’t totally surprising.
For instance, when Manchester City beat Stoke City 7-2 in October of the 2017-18 campaign, Pep Guardiola’s charges were flying high while Mark Hughes’ men were in freefall.
The Citizens ultimately won the title while the Potters were relegated. It would have been hard to predict 7-2 precisely, but betting on a few different high scorelines in that fixture could have resulted in picking the correct one.
For some bettors, it’s best to make decisions based on an analysis of players and teams in the lead up to the next match. An example of this could be to look at a referee adjudicating a match and find out how often he gives penalties.
Combine this with looking at team sheets that managers are frequently rolling out and studying who the penalty takers are.
If one side has pacey players like Raheem Sterling who often get pulled down in the box, it could be a shrewd bet to stake on City winning a penalty and Sergio Aguero slotting it home.
Making Informed Decisions Before Match Event Betting
As noted above, assessing a combination of different factors is the best way to make an informed decision about a match event. Fortunately, all the information needed is available online for bettors to access instantly.
Opta Sports is a great source of data for football bettors. The site covers the world of football in greater depth than anywhere else.
It covers over 1000 leagues and is the official partner of top leagues including the Premier League, La Liga, and the MLS. The data provided by the statisticians is exactly the kind of information that bettors need to stake on match events.
Let’s take a look at the match event “first goalscorer” as an example. If someone wanted to stake on this event, they would be wise to look at the main goal scorers from each team.
From there, they can check stats for shots on goal, shots on target, and penalty area touches of those players from the previous four games.
Bettors can also check heat maps to see which players are frequently getting into dangerous positions, while also looking at which players are more likely to score early or late on in games.
Taking that one step further, a bettor could also look into where a team’s biggest defensive weaknesses are. If one team is allowing more attacks down a certain flank, betting on the attacking player in that position against them could be shrewd.
Conclusion - More Lucrative Than Match Result Betting?
Staking on certain match events could prove to be more lucrative than betting on a football match result, as they usually offer longer odds for higher returns.
If bettors spend enough time researching their bets and checking the statistics thoroughly, they can find themselves in a strong position to make logical bets about what will happen in any given game.
For casual bettors, it is probably wisest to stick to simple things such as who will score or what the final result will be.
But for people with more time on their hands to delve deeply into the data, combination bets of different match events would prove to be the best way to maximise the chances of getting some good returns.
It’s hard to say that any form of betting is more lucrative than another, because the events being staked on are out of the bettors’ hands.
However, for people who like to have the chance of a higher return on investment, staking on match events is the way forward. The other benefit to betting on match events is the fact that it can provide extra excitement.
Learn About Other Betting Strategies
There are plenty of other betting strategies to learn about in the 888sport blog. Check out these articles focusing on other sports for some top tips and how to bet:
Rugby Betting Guide – Top Tips for Betting on Both Codes
